'I always wanted to follow in my father's footsteps' The Profile IN ASSOCIATION WITH Rensburg Sheppards Tony McDonough meets John Shannon, who has fulfilled his destiny by working for Wates.

Byline: Tony McDonough

IT WOULD be a step too far to suggest the North West construction industry had become gentrified - five minutes on the average building site would soon dispel that idea.

But John Shannon, business unit director for the northern region of North West construction firm Wates, insists the industry he joined more than 30 years ago has lost much of its aggressive, macho edge.

Wates is currently overseeing or just completing work on almost pounds 60m-worth of projects in Liverpool.

These include the pounds 28m North Liverpool Academy (NLA) in Anfield, the pounds 20m Art & Design Academy for Liverpool John Moores University and the pounds 11m Sydney Jones Library for the University of Liverpool.

Shannon, 47, left school at 16, and went straight into the sector, becoming a trainee site engineer at Faircloughs, in Manchester.

He said: "When I first started in the construction industry, belligerence was very much the order of the day. The people who ran big construction projects were very aggressive and everywhere I went that was what I saw.

"But, in recent years, what we have seen is an influx of intelligence in project leadership.

I think this has led to much more mature discussions and I think that has helped the industry to evolve for the better."

Wates is more fortunate than many of its rivals in the construction industry, who have been hit badly by the economic downturn.

Typically, between 80-90% of its work at any given time is on public sector projects, insulating the 111-year-old firm from the worst effects of the recession.

"Our particular focus is education," said Shannon. "This includes schools, colleges and universities, and we also get involved in projects for the prison and care home sector, too.

"Our track record in delivery of education projects is absolutely key when it comes to bidding for new work.

"When you are working on an education scheme it is about much more than just putting up a concrete structure.

"These will be living, breathing educational facilities, and it is important from our point of view to understand the needs of everyone who will be using them."

Shannon is particularly enthusiastic about the work Wates is doing on the North Liverpool Academy, which is due for completion this year.

He added: "The particular challenge with the academy is the centrepiece of the structure which is known as the Handle. It will be shaped like a door handle on a Jaguar car and is being done with tubular curved steel.

"It is a fantastic-looking thing and, because it was very bespoke, we had to produce a 3-D model to help us with the design."

Shannon was born and brought up in Manchester, and was destined to work in the construction industry.

"My father was a site manager and so I always wanted to follow in his footsteps," he said.

"I used to go on site with him on Saturday mornings. We would get up at some ridiculous hour of the morning and pile into the back of a van with the other site workers.

"I remember I was about 12, travelling to do a job in the Wirral. We would go to Liverpool and then get the ferry across the Mersey."

Those early experiences whetted Shannon's appetite and he left school at 16 to work as a trainee at Faircloughs, staying there for about 20 years.

He added: "I went from site engineer to general foreman, and eventually into project management. I became a site manager at around 27, and I think at that point I was one of the youngest in the North West.

"We did projects all over the region, including Merseyside. I worked on the construction of the Inland Revenue building, in Bootle."

Shannon says he sometimes misses the banter of the site, but these days finds himself in a much more strategic role. He is responsible for around 100 employees.

He said: "I don't think as a boss I am taciturn. I am quite outgoing and like to get close to the people I work with. I suppose it's always a temptation to get too involved in what other people are doing, but I do have confidence in them and I try not to meddle.

"I do spend quite a bit of time with consultants discussing projects and I also like to take a look at other schemes in the industry to see what things we can learn from them. I also think it is important to look at how we do things ourselves.

"I believe we should constantly look to improve what we do."

Despite having been in the construction sector for more than 30 years, his enthusiasm for the work remains undiminished.

He has been awarded the bronze medal in the Chartered Institute of Building Project Manager of the Year awards for the successful delivery of the first PFI school in Wales.

"I have seen a lot of changes in construction over the years, but it still remains a fantastic industry," he added.

"We now see more welleducated people coming in from all kinds of backgrounds and the opportunities to progress are a mile wide. There have been dramatic improvements in safety standards and rightly so. The health and safety of workers is now given a very high priority.

"The environment is now a big factor in how the projects are planned. Sustainability is now the key. That may cost a bit more, but it is a matter of recognising the benefits of things like energy efficiency over the longer term.

"I find clients are much more engaged on this issue now, and a lot more enlightened and informed than they used to be.

"I always say that construction is the best industry in the world to work in, even when things are going wrong."

Q&A

Age: 47

Family: Married to Tracey with four boys aged 19, 17 and 14-year-old twins

Highest educational qualification: MBA

Biggest achievement in business: Helping to grow Wates in the North West

Biggest regret: None - life is too short

Best advice received: Life is not a rehearsal

Main unfulfilled ambition: To meet Muhammad Ali

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CAPTION(S):

John Shannon shows students from the North Liverpool Academy how to lay bricks